Dragons must be up for breakdown battle

AFTER being bullied at the breakdown by a Sam Warburton-inspired Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons have been told they must up their game when they take on a side known for being cunning at the
contact area.

The Dragons are still smarting after seeing the Blues, who were woeful but not as woeful as their hosts, take the spoils 16-5 at Rodney Parade last Saturday. It was a drab encounter that was
dominated by errors and the whistle of referee Neil Hennessy, who was infuriatingly inconsistent at the breakdown.

The Blues, with Warburton and fellow flanker Josh Navidi to the fore, won that battle and the Dragons know it’s area that must be targeted on Saturday.

They travel to Limerick to take on Munster – a side they haven’t beaten on their own turf since the first season of regional rugby.

“Munster are renowned for their skills on the floor and it’s a massive challenge for us but we have to look at it as a great opportunity,” said centre Ashley Smith.

“Last weekend was a massive disappointment and when we gathered in the huddle afterwards we said that the standards were not good enough.

“We didn’t put the Blues under pressure through the phases, we let them off the hook and they turned us over too much.

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“It was a massively frustrating performance, we let our fans down and didn’t put into practice what we had done in the build-up.

“But we have started afresh and looking forward to the Munster game now because we know that we have to be much, much better.” Smith came off the bench at half-time against the Blues when in-form
centre Andy Tuilagi was forced off by a calf problem.

The 25-year-old, who was troubled by a tight hamstring in pre-season, has been among the replacements for all three of the Dragons’ RaboDirect Pro12 fixtures so far but has his fingers crossed for
getting the nod at Thomond Park.

He said: “Andy and Pat (Leach) have been excellent in midfield, in fact the whole back line have been in good form and that’s why they’ve been selected for every game.

“You can understand them staying in and the rest of us just have to bide our time and take the opportunity when it comes.

“Hopefully I’ll be playing at Munster and I can get a bit more game time, but hopefully it won’t be down to Andy being injured.”

Injuries suffered by centre Andy Tuilagi (calf) and hookers Steve Jones (calf) and Hugh Gustafson (ankle) will be assessed further this morning.

Early indications are that they are not serious and the squad received a boost yesterday when winger Tonderai Chavhanga took part in his first contact session since his summer knee operation.

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* There will be a minute’s silence at all RaboDirect Pro12 games in memory of Ulster centre Nevin Spence, who died in a farming accident on Saturday night along with his 30-year-old brother,
Graham, who was married with two children, and their 52-year-old father, Noel.

There's optamistic, you are. Without a 7 on the pitch it could be twice that. If there is one thing the Blues game showed, it is that having two 7's in your backrow is far better than having two 6's. Lewis Evans is a great 6 or 8 and may make a good 7, but not yet. As if to highlight this, the picture with this story shows that someone is missing.

There's optamistic, you are. Without a 7 on the pitch it could be twice that. If there is one thing the Blues game showed, it is that having two 7's in your backrow is far better than having two 6's. Lewis Evans is a great 6 or 8 and may make a good 7, but not yet. As if to highlight this, the picture with this story shows that someone is missing.Dai Trying

There's optamistic, you are. Without a 7 on the pitch it could be twice that. If there is one thing the Blues game showed, it is that having two 7's in your backrow is far better than having two 6's. Lewis Evans is a great 6 or 8 and may make a good 7, but not yet. As if to highlight this, the picture with this story shows that someone is missing.

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b3talover says...12:59pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Munster by 40 points.

Munster by 40 points.b3talover

Munster by 40 points.

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high x boy says...1:16pm Tue 18 Sep 12

what about our new signing playing

what about our new signing playinghigh x boy

what about our new signing playing

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Draigoch says...3:04pm Tue 18 Sep 12

With

WithDraigoch

With

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alfienoakes2612 says...4:48pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Is is just me or after every defeat (most games) do we hear "we just didn't take our opportunities etc" I for one don't want to waste any more money which is poor for the Dragons but losing has become a regular thing. Munster will very likely punish us as said before probably nearer the 40 points.

Is is just me or after every defeat (most games) do we hear "we just didn't take our opportunities etc" I for one don't want to waste any more money which is poor for the Dragons but losing has become a regular thing. Munster will very likely punish us as said before probably nearer the 40 points.alfienoakes2612

Is is just me or after every defeat (most games) do we hear "we just didn't take our opportunities etc" I for one don't want to waste any more money which is poor for the Dragons but losing has become a regular thing. Munster will very likely punish us as said before probably nearer the 40 points.

Score: 0

Euwan Usami says...9:14pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Yeah, with our injuries from the last debacle I would expect a margin of 20 or 30 points to Munster.

Yeah, with our injuries from the last debacle I would expect a margin of 20 or 30 points to Munster.Euwan Usami

Yeah, with our injuries from the last debacle I would expect a margin of 20 or 30 points to Munster.

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